News

Victory on vocational education?

Andrew Barr is very pleased with how vocational education (or at least the statistics measuring such) is going in Canberra.

Canberra is producing the best skilled workers in the country thanks to reforms and investment from the ACT Labor Government.

The latest Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development performance report released today has revealed that the ACT is outperforming other states and territories in the country in the areas of vocational education and training (VET) and employment opportunities after training.

The ACT is consistently the highest performing state or territory in the country across a range of indicators and targets.

In both 2009 and 2010 the ACT seen significant improvements in our performance in the following areas:

— The number of 20-64 year olds without a Certificate lll or above, which decreased significantly between 2008 and 2010, from 39.1 per cent to 33.9 per cent,

— number of higher qualification completions (Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas), which increased by 22 per cent between 2008 and 2009,

— the proportion of VET graduates employed after completing training, which increased between 2008 and 2010, from 85 per cent to 88.7 per cent,

— proportion of VET graduates unemployed after completing training, which decreased between 2008 and 2010, from 6 per cent to 5.6 per cent, and

— proportion of VET graduates reporting improved employment status after training, which increased between 2008 and 2010, from 64.3 per cent to 68.3 per cent.

Well, one positive after 11 years of Labor at the helm… Something they can be proud of…

It is also nice to see Barr using the “reforms and investment” line, because, one assumes, it indicates he’s preparing to offer the rest of the education sector the same dedication too… Suitable funding to the forthcoming “trade schools” and practical subject areas in general, would be a fantastic start…